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neph·ro·tome 'nef-rə-.tōm n the modified part of a somite of a vertebrate embryo that develops into a segmental excretory tubule of the primitive kidney called also intermediate cell mass
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neph·ro·tome (nefґro-tōm) one of the segmented divisions of the mesoderm connecting the somite with the lateral plates of unsegmented mesoderm; it is the source of much of the urogenital system. Called also intermediate cell mass and middle plate.Medical dictionary. 2011.